The Scen3

A review by Gwen Gray, with photos by Heather Gray/Gray Area Dance Over the years, 3rd Law Dance/Theater has become known for navigating on-stage obstacles. They’ve glided across a stage filled with bouncing ping-pong balls, held handstands atop typewriters, and woven themselves in and out of a collection of cardboard boxes and towers of metal cubes. But those were self-imposed creative challenges.  This year, 3rd Law, like virtually all performing arts groups, had to face the impossibilities imposed upon them by the pandemic. Yet in characteristic […]

A review by Betsy Schwarm Many ensembles make their mark in part by focusing on the music of the Baroque. Seicento Baroque Ensemble goes one step further, drawing its repertoire largely from the generations preceding the almighty Bach. It might seem a risky practice to build one’s programs around less familiar names. However, Seicento’s audiences […]

A Review by Marc Shulgold “You are the most intrepid music lovers in all of Denver,” Cynthia Katsarelis enthused to the small but enthusiastic gathering on a blustery, snowy night in the Mile High City on Feb. 22. Undeterred by the weather, a few dozen folks made their way to the First Baptist Church of […]

A Review by Gwen Gray (Photo credits from Broomfield Auditorium: Opus Zero) Few have ever claimed that love is a singular emotion. It can be patient, blind, ill-fated, all-consuming, unrequited, sweet, tragic or true — and that’s just for starters. This was illustrated in great detail during the Boulder Bach Festival’s Feb. 14, 2019 production […]

A review by Gwen Gray To hear it told by 3rd Law Dance/Theater’s artistic co-directors Katie Elliott and Paul Fowler, the company’s latest production, “Singularity,” was inherited. That’s because 3rd Law’s late cofounder Jimmy LaVita had already begun to assemble the research for the troupe’s next creation before his death — examining artificial intelligence (AI) […]

A review by Marc Shulgold   Sadly, the glorious sacred works of Renaissance brothers Giovanni and Felice Anerio have all but faded away in the passage of time. But their music wasn’t the only revival featured in a stunning concert by Timothy Krueger’s St. Martin’s Chamber Choir earlier this month. The middle of three weekend […]

A review by Betsy Schwarm The excellent Ars Nova Singers have long been one of the most adventurous ensembles in the region, with a repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to music of current composers. The ensemble’s October concerts this year brought out yet one more side of Ars Nova’s expressive voice: Sacred Jazz. In his […]

A review by Gwen Gray As last Saturday evening’s performance of “Lost in Place” by 3rd Law Dance/Theater got underway, the sound of trains chugging along and boats sloshing into harbor filled the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities, and old black-and-white scenes evoking 20th century European immigration were projected on the backdrop. Ten dancers […]

A review by Marc Shulgold  A list of Greatest Hits from the Baroque would be incomplete without Vivaldi’s tuneful “Four Seasons” and Bach’s brilliant “Brandenburg” Concertos. It’s not unusual to see the Italian composer’s quartet of violin concertos served up on a concert program. But an evening devoted to all of Bach’s glorious “Brandenburgs” is […]

By Marc Shulgold  Quite a coup for the Colorado Chamber Players to enlist the services of internationally renowned cellist Lynn Harrell. Not only was he present for an exceptional concert on Saturday April 14th in Bethany Lutheran Church – Harrell generously starred in all three works.   The program culminated with a sterling performance of […]